


Moonrise

by misshoneywell



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/M, Forced Marriage, Knotting, One Shot, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 05:27:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22426951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misshoneywell/pseuds/misshoneywell
Summary: Once a year, the twelfth colony of Panem makes sacrifices to the Clan of Claws. This time, the Lupine prince eagerly awaits their volunteer. In-Panem Fantasy AU.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 37
Kudos: 442





	Moonrise

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of my tumblr one shots that I'm cross posting here. 
> 
> I apologize for my use of Latin. I cobbled it (and a couple other languages) together for fantasy reasons. Also, there’s sex that isn’t…strictly human, per say. Enjoy, this was just for fun. And to check off werewolves/shapeshifters from my everlark bingo card.

Katniss scratched the side of her nose and waved away a persistent, buzzing fly from where it hovered near her ear. Strands of dark hair clung damply to her neck and forehead after falling out from the intricate braids her mother had woven for her that morning in preparation for the Sacrifice.

“What do you think happens to them?” Prim asked in a whisper, her eyes alight with interest and a malicious glee that had unnerved Katniss since they were children. “Father always swore they aren’t killed, but the Lupines are animals, aren’t they? Wolf-shifting savages. I’m sure they eat the pledges. Or fuck them. Or both,” she added, her fair, beautiful face thoughtful as she stared out at the sweating, anxious crowd before them, everyone waiting for the annual rites to commence.

Once a year, the twelfth colony of Panem made sacrifices to the Clan of Claws in return for an uneasy truce of war made seventy-six years ago, when a Twelve girl saved the life of a Claw leader.

That girl had been Katniss’ great grandmother, and she both hated and revered the memory of the woman who had brought relative peace to their colony.

Because while every citizen of Twelve was made to bear witness to the Sacrifice, as a member of the Everdeen family, Katniss was required to stand in a place of honor at center stage in the town square, where she had a front-row view of the fear and misery on the faces of the unlucky people plucked by the cruel hands of fate and delivered to the claws of the Lupines.

Never to be seen again.

“We don’t know that,” Katniss finally said, shivering despite the terrible summer heat. “We actually know precious little about the Clan of Claws. You’ve never even seen them shift– you’ve never seen their _faces_.” The Lupine delegates always arrived with their broad, intimidating bodies fully cloaked, their heads completely covered by a thick, dark hood and massive hands encased in leather gloves.

“Madge said some of them are in beast form permanently. Some stay half-shifted, part beast and part man.” Prim’s voice took on a needling tone, like when they were children and she had possession of a toy Katniss wanted. “And that they’re hideous under all of those coverings.”

“Madge is a ridiculous gossip who makes things up for status,” she replied tightly. “She knows _nothing_. Just because her father-” She stopped, refusing to take the bait further when she saw the pleased expression on her sister’s face. She took a breath. “Like I said, we’re ignorant to culture of the Clan. For all we know, it’s symbolic. They might not be _beasts_ at all. They might not be- they could be like us, just trying to surv-”

“Stop romanticizing them. They’re killers, plain and simple,” Prim said condescendingly. “Where do you think seventy-five of our colony’s women have disappeared to over the years?”

Katniss grew quiet. “I don’t know.” It was a mystery that had kept her up at night. She refused to believe that the Clan had murdered the Sacrifices. It just didn’t make sense, not with what she knew and had experienced. And the only living being Katniss could ask was an impossibility. More of a series of reoccurring dreams, and a sweet, hazy memory in the dark, than an actual person.

“You’ve read the history books, same as I,” Prim scoffed, studying her nails. “Before our dear great grandmother healed that Lupine, they slaughtered us by the droves. Ravaged the virgins. Pillaged the homes.”

“We’ve not been much better,” Katniss murmured, thinking about their people’s own checkered history of bloodshed and violence.

Prim looked at her sharply, her lips turning upward into an amused smile.

“Best not let the Council hear that treasonous talk.” She glanced over her shoulder toward the closed doors of the town hall, where the High Council were meeting with a delegate from the Claws. “You’ll be pilloried or worse, no matter who our grandmother was…or how saintly you are.”

“Saintly?” Katniss whispered harshly, ignoring the frown their mother shot them from her place beside Prim. “You know I’m far from that.”

Her sister gave her a look like sour candy, sweet but tart and biting beneath the surface. “Everyone loves you. The town huntress, a great protector of the people.”

“The _Lupines_ protect us.”

Prim rolled her eyes. “They stop the Capitol invaders and the outlying district thugs from attacking us. They don’t save us from the everyday threat of beasts as you and Gale so valiantly do with your bows.”

“It’s not like that,” Katniss said quietly.

“The Arrow of Panem,” Prim recited in a singsong voice. Taunting. “That’s what they call you.”

Katniss opened her mouth to decry the hated nickname, but their mother interrupted.

“Girls, please be quiet.” She leaned in and shook her head. “Stop bickering on today of all days.”

“Yes, do stop.” Prim affected a bored look, but the mean, glittering blue of her irises betrayed her. She smoothed down the front of her pinafore that had cost Katniss one deer hide and a flank of boar meat. “False modesty does not become you, sister.”

With that, they both turned and faced the crowd with twin expressions of repressed emotion. A moment later, the bell above the town square rang out, signifying the start of the Sacrifice.

“Good luck and fortune to you,” Prim said, staring straight ahead.

“Our names aren’t in the lottery.” Katniss’ forehead wrinkled. “They never are.”

“Yes, well,” her sister replied, “you never know what the Sacrifice will bring.”

Katniss studied Prim’s profile before turning back toward the crowd again. She met Gale’s eyes from across the sprawling lawn, able to pick out her best friend from the huge assembly of people with ease. He gave her a grim look in return, conveying his stark hatred and disapproval of the archaic tradition. She knew if it were up to him, he would renounce the truce with the Lupines and take his chance with war, ever resentful of the supplies, food and worst of all, people, they lost every year to the Clan of Claws.

She broke away from her silent conversation with Gale when the High Council filed onto the stage, taking their places in wooden chairs that were carved like primitive thrones in front of where Katniss stood with the exempt members of the colony.

“ _Good luck and fortune to you_ ,” Gale mouthed, cracking a smile. Katniss tilted her lips at him, but the smile felt hollow.

“Respected citizens of Twelve,” said High Chancellor Undersee, standing from his chair. His silver hair glinted under the harsh sunlight, and Katniss could see his patrician nose from her angle. His daughter, Madge, stood behind him with a superior look on her face. She was Prim’s best friend and Katniss’ worst enemy, and when she turned her head, she caught Katniss’ eye and smirked before turning back around. “Today we give our thanks to the Clan of Claws, our Lupine allies to the north. You here bear witness to an annual show of respect and goodwill, to ensure that the truce of yesterday lasts long until an eternity of tomorrows.” The intonation of his voice hitched as he continued, “But today, there will be a change to our tradition.”

Whispers of confusion broke out among the crowd before they fell into a hush again when the chancellor cleared his throat. Katniss looked at Prim, whose porcelain face barely moved with the news.

“There will be no lottery today for women aged sixteen to thirty. Additionally, no household will be required to pay tribute with their usual ration of food and goods.”

Cries of relief and shock spread throughout the town square, and Katniss pressed a stunned hand to her cheek. She met Gale’s eyes, who stared back at her with a confused and wary expression.

“Quiet, please,” said High Chancellor Undersee, mopping his brow with a crisp pocket square he pulled from his robe. “Instead…” He cleared his throat. “Instead, the Clan of Claws and the colony of Twelve will solidify their allegiance with the Sacrifice of a Twelfth Colony mate to the Lupine prince.”

“Prince?” Katniss repeated to herself, looking at Prim.

She barely acknowledged Katniss, her eyes intense as she watched the proceedings in front of them. A movement from the right of the stage caught her attention, and she turned away from her sister to see the Clan of Claws delegate step forward from his silent place in the wings.

“This is not a Sacrifice,” said a voice from behind the hood. It was deep, ponderous and almost a growl. Katniss’ eyes widened in shock because _a delegate was speaking_. Never in her twenty years of attending a Sacrifice had one of the Lupine dignitaries spoken or interfered in the proceedings beyond securing a pledge or two when they tried to run, and even that had been done quickly with minimal fuss. “Let it be clear– this will be an act of submission. Acceptance. The woman today who will become the prince’s mate will come willingly or not at all.”

Katniss couldn’t imagine anyone coming _willingly_ into the arms of a Lupine like the delegate, with a voice like ground rocks and clenched fists like small boulders.

“But let it be known,” the Lupine continued, “if his mate submits, the yearly Sacrifice will come to an end.” The hood turned, and Katniss felt as if he were speaking directly to her from the darkness beneath. Her heart pounded and sweat poured down her back. “This rite ends with her.”

“Who is she?” someone yelled from the crowd. The drone of voices rose with the question. The prospect of the Sacrifice ending was turning the town square into a humid churn of excitement and restless body heat, fear and apprehension mixed with joy in every shout and whisper from the colony’s citizens. Because while everyone wanted to end the tradition, no one wanted to Sacrifice a daughter or sister.

“Who?” another person cried, the reedy question voiced by the elderly woman who ran a fabric stall at the Hob. She also had at least a dozen granddaughters.

Katniss was motionless as the delegate’s head stayed angled. Angled toward her.

“The Arrow of Panem,” rumbled the Lupine. “Katniss Everdeen.” 

Katniss swayed and reached out toward her sister for balance, who sidestepped out of the way of her searching hand. She started to fall to the side of the stage, where there was a gap between the platform and the steps where they were standing. She braced herself for the harsh fall to the ground. Instead, she found herself in a firm grasp, the pungent smell of earth and cinnamon mingling together to form a heady scent that overwhelmed her. She was propped back onto her feet, and she raised a shaking hand to her head as she realized she was at the very front of the center stage and the delegate, who had, _oh heavens_ , _saved her_ , was standing before her, his hooded head bowed.

She turned, bewildered, and faced the crowd, who were silent and gaping at the spectacle. She faced the High Council then, beseeching as they stared back at her.

“What will be your answer, Arrow of Panem?” the delegate asked, his voice low. “Do you accept the Peeta, Vuk Prince of the Roukan Claws, as your mate?”

She couldn’t believe this was happening. This morning, she had been sitting at the wooden table her father had carved himself before dying in the mines, eating a piece of toast with marmalade that was now threatening to make an appearance. Now, she was having to make an incomprehensible decision.

“Do I- can I have a moment?” she begged quietly, stepping backward on trembling legs. She looked first at the Council, none of whom would meet her eyes. Then at her mother and sister, the former who stared back with stunned, glossy eyes, and the latter with an expression of bittersweet, _knowing_ amusement. And when she watched as Prim exchanged a look with Madge, she realized with a pang of angry betrayal that her treacherous sister knew this was coming. For an undetermined amount of time, maybe a day, maybe weeks, Prim had been passed information by the High Chancellor’s daughter that she had cruelly withheld. And if the look of satisfaction on her face was any indication, Katniss suddenly came to understand that her sister hated her far beyond sibling rivalry.

“Would time make a difference?” The baritone of the Lupine’s response hit a pitch that was only reached by her ears. He cocked his head, the gesture unsettling in its canine nature. “You have two choices, girl. Be the savior of your colony, end this hated practice. Leave a hero. Or…” His head lifted, and she gasped when she saw the glowing blue coals of his eyes beneath the hood and the suggestion of sharp facial planes. “Stay as an outcast, watching year after year as your struggling village is forced to sacrifice your winter store of goods, your furs, and yet another of your females.”

“Why isn’t the _prince_ here?” she asked, desperation in her voice as she stalled for time. She could hear the restless murmurs of the crowd growing again, some voices sympathetic, others demanding her Sacrifice. She couldn’t dare turn her head and meet the stare of Gale in the fray, unable to handle what she would see there. “Surely if he wants me so badly as his mate- which I don’t understand- not at _all-_ why didn’t he come claim me for himself?” She found her footing in her growing anger, grasping onto that instead of the shameful fear that threatened to overthrow everything in its stead. “Is he so weak, so cowardly?”

The Lupine made a sound, something like a grunt of amusement and irritation all in one.

“He did come for you,” he said evenly, his large arms crossing in front of his broad chest.

“Where?” she asked, mystified as she swiveled her head. Then she stilled as she suddenly understood.

“Here,” said the Lupine prince. “I am Peeta.” Then he leaned forward, those magnetic eyes staring into hers. He was so close that she could see that under the hood, his face was partially covered by a swath of black cloth, like the fieldworkers sometimes wore to protect against the drawing of viper-bugs into their mouths. “For a legendary _huntress_ , you struggle to see what’s in front of your eyes, Katniss Everdeen.”

If she wasn’t so shaken, she’d be indignant over the insult. “Why do you want me?” Katniss asked instead. She wished she sounded more demanding and less like a terrified, insecure dairy maid. “I’m no one.”

“Why does the hemlock need the light? The owl, the wind for flight?” Peeta, Prince of Claws, wondered aloud. “The moon, keeping the night?” He spoke the words in a rhythmic cadence, reciting it like a Twelve nursery rhyme. She felt as if she were under a spell as she listened, like she had heard them before. “You'e mine,” he finished, the words coming out like a slow, obvious blink. Then they turned clipped, angry. “You’re my woman, my mate, and I don’t have the time or patience to explain it to you.”

Katniss blanched at his sudden, harsh words.

“So will you come with me, Arrow of Panem?” he asked, almost mockingly. Like he already knew the answer. “Accept your rightful place as my mate?”

She took a breath. Looked up at the blue, cloudless sky. Her eyes watered, and not just from the glare of the sun.

“Katniss,” Peeta said, gentling that deep, startling voice. She looked at him, wishing she could see beneath the hood. “I won’t hurt you.”

“I’ll come,” she said, resigned. She turned to the High Council and spoke louder for their benefit. “I’ve made my choice. I’ll accept him as my- my mate.”

The prince held out his hand, and she took it.

—

“Did you say your goodbyes to your satisfaction?” Peeta asked in a formal voice, breaking the silence between them for the first time in the twenty minutes that they’d been walking. It had been an awkward, tense journey so far, made even more uncomfortable by the two Claws that followed behind them at a respectful distance. “I was generous to give you so much time.”

He had stayed outside while she gathered a few personal items, but he had made it clear that she should keep any “trinkets” to a bare minimum. Prim hadn’t bothered to come to the house to see her off, and other than a small fissure of sadness at their estrangement mixed with the lingering sting of betrayal, Katniss had mostly felt relief that her sister hadn’t been there to protest when she stuffed a framed photograph of their parents into a sack.

Her mother had cried, though suspiciously less so when one of the Council members who had been overseeing Katniss’ exit passed her a heavy bag clinking with coins, no doubt of the gold variety. The hardest parting had been with Gale, who held her tightly while whispering promises of vengeance and retribution into her ear. She had kissed him on the cheek and told him to forget her, to be well.

Gale had to be dragged out of the house by the district peacekeepers.

“Oh, I suppose I should thank you for your _generosity._ And is there an easy way to wish your friends and family goodbye for the last time? If so, please tell me so that I may go back and do it again,” she shot back, reddening after her impertinent question. This man could break her in half without exerting even a fraction of effort. It was so easy to forget he held her future in his huge hands. “I’m- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t apologize,” he said deeply, his hood practically quivering in annoyance. “You’re my mate. In terms _your_ kind understand, you’re going to be my wife. I don’t want you to be afraid of me. Get angry. Ask questions. We’re going to be together for a very long time, and I have no doubt I’ll give you reason to snap at me often enough.”

“You tell me to question you, but you wouldn’t answer me earlier, when I asked you why you wanted me at the Sacrifice.”

“That wasn’t a Sacrifice,” he said tersely. “I made that clear.”

“Fine. _Mating.”_

Peeta made a disgusted, offended noise in the back of his throat. She thought she heard one of the Lupines behind them make a choked noise of their own. “That wasn’t a mating, either. I forget how ignorant you people are to our ways,” he grumbled, more to himself than to her. Then he turned his head toward her, his voice lowering. “When we mate, you’ll know it.”

“You’re being impossible,” she said, exasperated. She valiantly tried to ignore the thrill of anxiety, fear and something she didn’t want to admit when he promised her a memorable mating experience in that low growl. “Why won’t you answer a direct question?”

“I said you can ask. But wolves are very good at being evasive,” he said, and if she didn’t know better, she thought there was a smile in his maddening voice.

“About that,” she started, feeling hesitant and maybe even a little silly. “Are you- when you say wolves, are you- well...”

He stopped and turned toward her. “What are you stammering about?”

“Lupines, are you- are you _wolves_? Do you truly change shapes?” she blurted out, her olive skin turning to a dusky rose. He stilled at her question and she babbled on, intensely aware as he held up a hand to their two Lupine shadows who had been protecting them from a distance. When Peeta peeled off his leather gloves with a deliberate ease, her words poured out at a panicked pace. “It’s just that we don’t know much of the history of the Clan of Claws. None of you have shown your faces. So I wondered, is it metaphorical? Are you a society of highly trained warriors who use the beastly principals of a wolf as your symbolic… _what_ are you doing?”

“I’m showing you,” he said, kicking off his boots, which one of the Lupines picked up and placed inside of a large bag that he had strapped to his back that already housed the prince’s gloves. His feet were very large but perfectly formed, a dusting of golden hair on each of his long toes.

“Show me what?” she asked, mystified. She pulled her eyes away from his feet and gasped.

“Me,” he said simply, shrugging off his cloak.

She stared as it fell to the ground. The other Lupine caught it before it hit the forest floor, but she wasn’t paying him any attention, because Peeta was unwinding the swath of cloth from the lower half of his face.

“You’re…”

“Yes?” He stared back at her, his face hard as he awaited her judgement.

“Beautiful,” she uttered.

His hair was thick, blond and curling, just long enough to tuck behind ears that were pointed at the tip, strange but sweet in their curves. His eyes were that glowing blue not even the darkness of his hood could conceal, but in the sunlight, they were luminous and otherworldly as they pierced her own grey ones. His face was arresting, with angular cheek bones, full lips pressed into a thin line and a sharp, clenched jaw. His strong nose, once clearly blade-like, was crooked as if having been hit a time or three. His nose saved him from a certain prettiness; instead, he looked rugged, very dangerous, and far too attractive for someone that was used as a cautionary tale, the Clan of Claws a nightmare for story-time to keep young district children in line.

He looked displeased with her assessment.

“This isn’t the face I want to show you,” he said flatly. He nodded at the two men, who stood at an alert stance as if awaiting orders. “Head to the Den.” They stepped backward, out of her sight. Then Peeta unbuttoned his pants.

“Oh my- what are you doing?” she cried, whirling around and facing the trees of the forest.

“I don’t care if you see me,” he said from behind her, his voice darkly amused. She heard the rustling of his clothes as they hit the ground, and she swallowed. “You’ll be seeing all of me soon enough.”

“I wish you’d stop making those comments. I’m well aware that we’re going to do- to have to do _that_ , but-” She stopped when he gave a low grunt, almost a groan of pain. “Peeta?” She waited, realizing then that his two Lupine companions were gone as well. “Peeta?” She panicked and whirled around, resigning herself to seeing his naked body. He did have a point about her misguided modesty, after all. “What’s-”

She screamed. Fell backward. Scrambled at a crab walk until her back hit a tree, because instead of a man, an unnaturally large wolf stood in Peeta’s place. It’s fur was white and gold, and the eyes were blue– glowing, luminous, otherworldly. Its powerful legs were meant to outrun, and when it yawned, the teeth inside its mouth were for ripping and tearing into its prey. And those paws, massive as they padded toward her, housed claws for shredding.

It was true. The Clan of Claws were shape shifters. The Lupines were wolf-men, and now one of them was her mate.

“Peeta?” she whispered in disbelief, her lips trembling when the wolf stopped in front of her. He blinked at her, and then sat down at her feet.

Slowly, carefully, she rose to her knees in front of him. The wolf stared back at her with calm, blue eyes, and when she reached out a trembling hand, he nudged it in response. She let out a relieved breath.

“It’s really you,” she breathed, running her fingers down his neck. He tilted his head regally, and she couldn’t help but give a shaky laugh. “You manage to look like princely even as a wolf.”

He stared at her, and she somehow knew that if he were a man right now, he’d be pursing his lips.

“You’re still beautiful, you know.” She narrowed her eyes when he growled at her, his ears tilting back. _Growled_. “I can’t help it if you’re a pretty wolf. Your eyes are- I don’t have the words. You actually remind me of-” She stopped. “It doesn’t matter.” She poked the bridge of his muzzle. “I suppose you don’t eat people, do you? I knew the rumors were ridiculous.” 

Peeta stood suddenly, rising to an impressive height. She climbed to her feet as well, residual wariness still inside of her even though she now knew it was him. She watched as he trotted forward and then came back to stand in front of her, looking at her expectantly.

“What is it?” she asked when he lowered his head and front paws. When she didn’t move and only looked at him in confusion, Peeta huffed out a great sigh. He butted her stomach with his black nose, causing her to yelp. Then he lay down beside her.

“Oh,” she said, realizing his intent. “Surely you don’t- you want me to _ride_ you?”

He shot her a look as if unimpressed with her intelligence. _Finally_ he said with his eyes. 

“Well, all right,” she said, nonplussed. “But what about your pants and shirt? Your men disappeared with all of our bags. This is all quite mysterious, you know.” He blinked at her. “Fine, I’ll leave them.” She exhaled and spent an awkward moment or two attempting to straddle his back while wearing a dress, afraid of hurting him. He stayed flat on the ground patiently until she was situated, and then stood when she had buried her hands into his pelt. She hoped it wasn’t pulling him too badly, but he trotted forward without a whimper. When he increased his speed, her arms wrapped around his neck with an automatic sense of panic, abandoning her tentative grasp on his fur.

Peeta howled, but the sound wasn’t one of pain. It was as if the bastard was laughing at her in wolf-form. She shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, closing them to the blurring landscape as they sped through the forest at a dizzying pace. Her mind felt curiously blank. She wondered if she was going into shock, the events of the day finally catching up to her. Until now, everything had felt something like a very odd dream, like a longer extension of the ones that woke her up at night.

Before she knew it, they were coming to a halt as they approached the rocky surface of a mountainside. She blanched as they headed straight for the wall of it, waiting for impact. Instead, they passed straight through the rocks, the foliage deceptively covering an entrance.

“Warn a girl next time,” she snapped, breathing hard. He gave a little cough in response, which she assumed was a chuckle. It was dark as they walked through the entrance of the cave, and for the first time she really gave thought to where they were to live. She wasn’t afraid of the dark, but she definitely wasn’t meant-

 _Oh._

They emerged from the dark, narrow passageway into a immense chamber, rocky columns framing an entrance-way that lead into a sloping path that filtered out to a cavernous space beyond her line of sight, only the arched opening visible to her. Four Lupines stood in front of the columns. Two of them she recognized as their companions on the trip to this place, and she watched as they walked toward them.

Peeta lay down and she climbed off of him, stumbling a little as she tried to gain her balance again after the harrowing ride.

“Welcome to the Den,” the dark-haired one said, speaking to her for the first time. He grinned as she stared at him. “My name’s Thom. Darius and I didn’t bother introducing ourselves until you passed the test. Apologies for that.”

“The test?” she asked faintly, staring around the room.

“Whether or not you’d run off screaming into the forest once you saw our prince shift,” said the red-haired Lupine who took Peeta’s cloak away earlier. He had it in his hands now and tossed it somewhere behind her.

“She didn’t actually see it happen,” Peeta said from the same direction the cloak landed, his voice dry. “Too overwhelmed by my charms, I suppose.”

She whirled around, catching a tantalizing strip of naked flesh before it was covered up by the cloak he was shrugging back on.

“Ready?” he asked, his wry expression softening a fraction as he inclined his head toward the stone columns.

She nodded back, not feeling ready at all.

Darius and Thom walked ahead of them and took their place in front of the columns, where they were apparently on guard. When she moved to follow the same direction, Peeta placed a large hand on her shoulder. Without the gloves, she could see that his fingernails were sharp and thick, and though not overly long, they could easily tear open a jugular.

“Before we do this, I want you to understand something, because I don’t know how much time we’ll have after what comes next.”

 _What comes next?_

A moment of hysterical panic made her lightheaded. She touched her temple in a daze and blinked at him. “I thought we were going to be together for a very long time,” she said, quoting his earlier statement.

“We will be,” he assured her, those glowing eyes studying her face. In the dim cavern with only scattered wall sconces providing light, they seemed brighter than ever. “I meant directly after our ceremony.”

Her eyes widened. “That’s happening now? Our ceremony?”

“Yes,” he said, his lips set in a grim line. “Stop looking as if you’re going to faint. I’d wait if I could, but I’m twenty-five and soon to inherit the mantle of leadership. Of a king. My father is sick-” He stopped and rubbed his mouth, looking annoyed at himself. He pulled his hand away and she felt strangely bereft at the loss of the weight on her shoulder. “What you need to know is that we’re to be officially mated. And afterward, we’ll consummate the ceremony.”

 _Oh, stars above._

“The ceremony will be relatively brief.” Her heart jumped in relief at this. “But intense,” he continued, his eyes locked on hers. “There’s a…blood exchange. A bite,” he said. “And afterwards, I’m…well, the mating imperative will be strong.”

“How strong?” she asked, her voice small.

He chewed on the corner of his mouth, a crease too long to be a dimple appearing in his cheek as he regarded her. “Very. But I won’t hurt you. And you’ll want it,” he adds quietly, as if it will comfort her. “You’ll want it as much as me. Maybe more.”

“I-I don’t know if I’m ready for that,” she confessed, her hands wringing together. “I don’t even know you. We’re strangers.” _And I’ve never been with a man before._

“That’s not strictly true.” If possible, his mouth tightened even further. “You’ve seen my wolf. He accepted you. You rode on our back, shared a journey.” He raised his chin into a stubborn tilt, his arms crossing in front of a broad chest that was all-too visible to her in the gap of his cloak. “That’s enough for now. The rest will come.”

“But we haven’t even kissed.” She closed her eyes in mortification. Out of all of the very valid objections she could make, that was what she put voice to?

The tension in his face smoothed out, and his eyes took on a hooded slant. “Well,” he said silkily, stepping forward. “Let me rectify your chief concern.”

She smelled him before she felt him, that perfect, intoxicating scent invading her nostrils before his lips claimed hers. One of those massive hands cupped the back of her head and the other cupped her cheek, pulling her closer, gentle but insistent as his mouth plied open hers, nipping the bottom lip first, a warning to submit to his questing kiss. Warmth radiated through her core at the first touch of his tongue on hers, and she melted into him, her orphan, fluttering hands coming home to rest on his chest as she stood on her tip toes, desperate to deepen their kiss further. His hands dropped to her arms, and she was half standing, half dragged by his strong hands to meet his embrace.

And then the kiss was over all too soon, her lips still searching for his when he pulled away, a pleased smile on his arrogant face. It was only when she was carefully placed on the ground that she realized she had literally been airborne, Peeta having lifted her completely off the ground.

“Impressive,” called Darius. The prince shot him a look, and the other Lupine just grinned at him, casually leaning against one of the columns.

Peeta turned back toward her. “Now, by your logic, we’re no longer strangers,” he said. He was a touch too smug for her liking, but she was still too drugged from their kiss to argue. He slipped her arm through his and together they walked down the stone path that opened up to an intimidating archway. When she peered into the dim space beyond, she saw a deep staircase lit by torchlight, and she heard the unmistakable sound of hundreds of voices beyond the steps.

She stopped and Peeta peered at her, a line appearing between his thick eyebrows.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared.”

“Don’t be,” he said, as if it were so simple because he decreed it so. “Someday soon, you will be their queen. When you walk into the Great Room, remember that.”

She wondered if the Sacrifices had been as terrified as she had felt right now, which reminded her-

“What happened to them?” she asked, coming to a dead stop. “The pledges?”

He shook his head. “What do you think? We ate them?” he asked gruffly, his normally serious eyes betraying his amusement. He encouraged her to start walking again. “No, Katniss. They’re alive. Well, the ones who haven’t passed from old age. They’re content. You’ll see them one day soon. All right?”

Katniss nodded, satisfied with his answer, and took a deep breath. She raised her eyes to a ceiling covered with stalactites, sharp like wolves teeth. It was then she noticed a phrase that was carved above the archway, the words appearing ancient and chiseled.

“ _Si vis pacem, para bellum_ ,” she murmured, rubbing her arm. “What does that mean?”

He eyed her for a long moment. “If you want peace, prepare for the war.”

With that comforting thought in mind, they descended even further into the belly of the beast. When they emerged at the bottom of the stairs, Katniss would have laughed if she wasn’t so terrified.

It was amusing to think that she thought the antechamber of the Den was large, because this gigantic space that Peeta called the Great Room was easily ten times the length of the town square back in Twelve. The walls were roughly hewn, as if the Lupines themselves had scooped out the guts of the mountain with their hands, and hundreds upon hundreds of off-shoot tunnels lead from the cave to what she imagined were personal chambers of the many citizens who were currently staring at her from their place in the center of the room. They stood in perfect lines, like soldiers, but their clothing, though less pretentious…more natural, with their leather arm bands and fur-lined leggings and flowing tunics…were _finer_ than anything she’d ever seen a person in her colony wear.

“Oh,” she said as they stopped in front of the gathered crowd. It was hard not to cower under their scrutiny. Her dusty, sweaty dress and messy hair falling from her braids were a disgrace in the face of the Claw of Claws.

Peeta pulled her forward through a row in the sea of Lupines, and they emerged into a semi circle of lit torches, where a tall woman with long dreadlocks and a proud expression awaited them. Behind her were four thrones made from twisting stag horns and smooth stones, but only one of the seats was occupied. Sitting upon it was a man with flowing, silver hair, his eyes glowing a familiar blue that regarded her with shrewd curiosity and, if she wasn’t mistaken, a bit of disdainful fascination. He was handsome, but tired, his face prematurely lined with deep grooves that suggested sickness rather than age.

This must be Peeta’s father. The king.

“I am Paylor, spiritual consiliarius to the Claws.”

Katniss looked at Peeta for guidance, who merely inclined his head toward the woman. Katniss did the same, though she felt as if she looked more like an awkward bird with a broken neck rather than a future queen.

“Today,” Paylor’s voice rose and echoed through the massive chamber, “we witness an important moment in our history. Our prince will join together with his chosen mate, Katniss Everdeen, the Arrow of Panem.”

A murmur echoed throughout the Great Room, and Katniss had a stunned moment of wonder as they whispered with recognition at her name. Then she settled with unease. She wasn’t sure what a race of wolf shifters thought of her hunting prowess. One of the legends of the Clan is that their hatred and war with the humans of Panem stemmed much from being hunted almost to extinction. Seeing the faces of the Lupines, she couldn’t imagine killing one of them in cold blood.

“Join hands,” said Paylor. She dragged one long, diamond-thick nail over a piece of flint she pulled from the pocket of her robe, and a shower of flames dropped over a trench in the stone floor piled high with kindling. At once, a small bonfire came to life, casting shadows over her and Peeta’s face. 

He took her cool fingers into his large, startlingly warm ones. She felt a jolt, as if her skin recognized his. Her eyes flew to Peeta’s, and though he stared back at her calmly, the clench of his jaw betrayed him. He had felt it, too.

“Repeat these vows,” Paylor continued. And then she proceeded to rattle off words that Katniss had trouble understanding, let alone speaking. Peeta, of course, said them unerringly, leaving Katniss to blink in panic when Paylor looked at her, once again saying the lines that Katniss was to repeat.

Peeta’s lips twitched, like he could read her mind. Then in an act of pity that made her want to kiss him on the mouth, he began to feed her the words so softly and carefully, his lips barely moved with the effort.

 _“Ego, Katniss, suscipio te, Peeta sicut meus alterum, habere ac tenere in felicitas et in litis, instituens is dies et donec mortalitas nos scindit_ , _”_ Katniss recited, sweating from both the heat of the fire and great effort once she finished.

She practically jumped out of her skin when every Lupine cried back, “ _Donec mortalitas nos scindit.”_

 _“_ What does that mean?” Katniss asked, her eyes wide as she stared up at Peeta, who accepted a silver chalice that Paylor pulled straight from the fire. He didn’t flinch when the metal touched his hands; instead, he took a long sip and then held it to her lips. She held back a yelp when it touched her mouth, but all she felt was cool silver until the hot liquid hit her tongue. She gulped the potent concoction, and immediately felt a rush of deep peace infuse her veins. Everything seemed to sparkle– the stalagmites jutting out from the floor, a wolf-head brooch with green, emerald eyes on the rim of Peeta’s cloak, and even his fingernails as he pressed them into her hands.

“It means,” he said, watching as she stared around the room with shining eyes, “we’re going to be together for a very long time.”

And then he drew her close, and kissed her.

It was different from before. There was an urgency to this kiss, a passion that seemed to be lit from within them. Peeta’s nose nudged hers, and his hands clutched at her shoulders as he ravaged her mouth. Her lips tingled in response, and a moan escaped her throat that didn’t have a prayer of being heard among the roar of approval from the Lupines.

“ _Ah_ ,” she mumbled against his lips, a sharp, prickling sensation radiating from her mouth. It’s only when she felt liquid trickle down her chin that she realized he had bit her. She jerked back and stared at him, panting hard when she felt a supercharged rush of blood straight to her brain.

“That’s it, _alterum,_ ” he coaxed her lowly, pulling her forward again. Peeta lowered his head and scented her. “You know what to do.”

Katniss pressed her mouth against his, nipping that full bottom lip. Then she bit harder, drawing her own blood this time. Something in the back of her mind told her this was wrong, unnatural, but she suppressed the voice and nuzzled his face, smearing ruby streaks across his jaw.

“It’s time,” he growled, and then she was lifted into his arms.

He strode toward one of the tunnels past the row of thrones, and when she passed the king, he nodded at her, something like wistful amusement in his expression. Then Peeta was ducking into one of the stone pathways and they were traveling up a staircase, then another, until she lost track of the dizzying maze of stairs and tunnels that he maneuvered them through. Every so often he would give her a drugging kiss, and she would laugh and laugh, her eyes watching the sparkling indentations in the rocky walls of the Den.

He dropped her to her feet with careful precision when they reached a large hallway, and at the end of it was a stone doorway. Peeta pulled her through it by the hand, and her eyes widened when she stumbled behind him into the room. It was clearly his living quarters, with a bed so large that it could have fit an entire family. It was covered with luxurious furs and topped by plush pillows that all but begged for a head to be laid upon them. She saw that her bag from home was propped against a corner of the room, which made her smile.

Then she gasped, because her mate was pulling her into his arms again.

“Peeta,” she cried out, her head falling back when he pressed his lips in a trail down her neck, his fingers making quick work of the buttons down the back of her dress. He tugged at the material, making an impatient noise when the bow at the waist wouldn’t give. “Oh- wait-”

“No waiting,” he said, his voice rough and slightly garbled. Different than before. His eyes were glowing brighter than usual. “I need you, Katniss. My _alterum,_ my mate.”

He lifted his hand and whirled her around, slashing her dress _with his claws_. Katniss knew she should by panicked at the brief sight of them, the way they had shifted from his human hands into something far more beastly, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care. Not at all. Not when the pieces of dress fell in ribbons to the floor, landing on the rug beneath their feet. Not when he ran one sharp nail down the valley of her breasts, severing the delicate material of her bra. His eyes fell to her small breasts, and his nostrils flared as he drank in the sight of her.

She moved to cover her chest, but he stilled her arm.

“Don’t,” he said thickly. His gaze flew up to meet hers. “Please, Katniss _._ I want to look at you. _”_

Her arm fell away, and she stood before him completely bare except for her underwear. “I want to see you, too,” she told him, lifting a hand to her lower stomach. She felt hollow and needy there, and he was just so beautiful. His blond hair shined, every strand glittering just for her. That massive body, naked underneath the cloak, taunted her.

“I’m yours to command,” Peeta said, his eyes dark and hungry. And with one tug of a string, the cloak fell away.

His body was a masterpiece. He was all taut skin and sinews of sleek muscle. His broad chest was covered with crisp, golden hairs, and when he clenched his stomach, it rippled– _wait_. In her lust-fueled haze, her eyes locked on his abdomen and the set of parallel, silver scars that arched across it in staggered slashes.

Her eyes flew to his face, and he looked back at her with narrowed, expectant eyes.

“Do you remember, _alterum_?” he asked, his voice hoarse and tight, as if it were physically paining him to hold back from touching her. “Do you remember…me?”

* * *

_She crept through the forest, scared but trying to be brave. She was only seven and not allowed to be this far into the woods. Her father would be upset with her if he knew, but she couldn’t help but follow the low, mournful whimpers that called to her when she was playing near the edge of the treeline._

_Katniss looked over her shoulder and was comforted when she could still, though just barely, make out their house through the brambles that had torn her dress._

_“Mama will be angry,” she said to herself, but pushed ahead anyway. When she emerged into a small clearing, Katniss stopped, her mouth hanging open at the sight that awaited her._

_It was a wolf, and it was caught in one of the traps her father had made to catch coyotes and wolverines. It wasn’t quite a pup, but not fully grown either. It was probably like her; not a baby, but not yet a big girl._

_She stepped forward cautiously, her eyes welling with sympathetic tears when she saw the blood pooling on the autumn leaves beneath its body. The trap was double-jawed, with vicious teeth along the edge of it that were wedged into the tender belly of the creature._

_“You poor thing,” she breathed, dropping to her knees beside it. It stared at her with blue, fathomless eyes, and when she reached out a tentative hand toward its stomach, the wolf pulled back its lips into a halfhearted snarl._

_“My daddy can get you out,” she said more to herself than to the wolf. She laid her hand by its paw reassuringly. “My fingers are too clumsy,” she added, her eyes apologetic. Katniss studied the latch she knew would release the jaws of the trap. “And I’m not very strong. Not yet, at least.” She nodded with a resigned air of finality. “I’m going to be in_ big _trouble for this, but I’ll be right back.”_

_She stood and ran, her pretty, plaid dress ripping even further as she tore through the woods. Her father was standing by the shed, and his eyes widened when he took in her flushed cheeks and panicked expression. “Where were you?” he demanded, dropping his mining gear. “You know you’re not supposed to-”_

_“There’s a wolf and it needs our help,” she blurted out, bending over with her hands on her knees. “It’s hurt real, real bad.”_

_“Katniss.” He hesitated, his expression troubled. “Wolves- around here, they’re not…”_

_Her bottom lip trembled. “Please_ , _daddy.”_

_He looked at her for a long moment and then sighed. “All right, cattail.” He picked her up and started walking. “Lead the way. But this has to be a secret, mind you.”_

_When they went back to the wolf, it looked worse than before and was panting in pain. Her father put her on the ground and gave her a stern warning to keep to the edge of the clearing as he worked to free the animal from the trap._

_“Wolves are unpredictable, and he could hurt you,” her father said, his arms straining with effort as he pried open the jaws of the trap. He then tossed it to the ground and crouched back down next to the wolf, who didn’t move despite being free. “These are nasty wounds. Poor fella.”_

_“It’s a boy?”_

_Her father looked at her, startled by something she said. “A male,” he corrected her. He studied the wolf’s face for a moment as if looking for something, and then relaxed. “We’re going to have to stitch him up, Katniss.”_

_She frowned. “Can’t Mama do it?” She was the town healer, after all._

_“No,” he said sharply. “No one can know. No one, ever. Even your mama. Do you understand?”_

_“Yes,” Katniss replied in a small voice, cowed. He rarely if ever raised his voice to her._

_“I’m going to pick him up now. He’s a juvenile wolf, so he’s manageable at least. Plus, he’s too hurt to do much damage.” Even still, he hesitated a moment before leaning down and scooping up the wolf in his arms. The animal whimpered but didn’t so much as snap at them as they quickly walked back toward the house._

_“Go inside and get your mother’s sewing kit,” he told her. “Quiet as possible, like how I taught you to walk through the woods. Then come back to the shed.”_

_She nodded and did as he asked, careful not to gather the attention of her oblivious mother or napping sister. When she edged into the shed a moment later, she handed the kit to her father._

_“These stitches are going to be rough,” he murmured, kneeling on the ground. “I don’t have a skilled touch like your mama, but I can stop the blood at least.” He looked down grimly at the wolf, who stared back at them with lidded eyes. “It’s going to be tough, fella.” He grabbed a rag from one of the hooks on the wall and wrapped it around the wolf’s muzzle. “Just in case,” he said, looking at Katniss. “I’d bite, too, if I was about to go through this.”_

_Thirty minutes later, her father was finished sewing up the gashes on the wolf. His hands were covered in blood, which he washed off at the pump outside._

_“We’ll leave him out there, check on him in the morning. Give him some food,” her father said with a sigh, looking toward the shed with a frown. “Don’t know if I’m doing the right thing,” he said to himself, then peered down at his daughter’s face. “A secret, Katniss.”_

_“I promise,” she said solemnly._

_“Don’t go near the shed without me,” he added, crouching down to look her in the eye. “Promise that, too.”_

_She crossed her fingers behind her back. “I promise.”_

_She lay in bed that night, listening to Prim snore beside her in their bed. All she could think about was that poor wolf, alone and suffering by himself out in the cold. He at least needed a blanket!_

_“That’s what I’ll do,” she whispered, rolling out of bed onto silent little feet. She pulled an old blanket from her closet that she hadn’t used since she was just a baby and crept toward the backdoor, sneaking looks behind her to make sure her nosy little sister didn’t wake up and follow her. Her mama slept like a log, and her daddy was snoring like a bear, so she wasn’t worried about them._

_She ran toward the shed, shivering when the cool November wind hit her bare legs. She carefully opened the shed door and walked forward, her eyes adjusting to the dimness of the one-room storage building._

_Katniss just barely made out the outline of the wolf, whose eyes burned bright even in the dark. She knew she ought to be scared, but she wasn’t. Not at all._

_“I brought you something, friend.” She held out the blanket like a peace offering, inching forward one little bit at a time. “I know you’re cold out here, aren’t you?”_

_He whimpered in response, and her heart melted._

_“Here,” she said, crouching in front of him. Her father had tied him to one of the posts that held up the shed, but the loop around his neck wasn’t uncomfortably tight. She carefully tucked the blanket around him, smiling when he just rolled over onto his side and pulled his legs further under the blanket. Just like a person. Then her smile faded, her lips forming a worried circle. If her father woke up and saw the blanket, he’d know she broke her promise! But she couldn’t just leave him out here alone…_

_“Little wolf friend,” she said with soft innocence. “I’m going to stay with you tonight. Please don’t bite me.” She looked at him sternly as if awaiting a response. He blinked at her, his glowing eyes regarding her steadily. “Okay, then.”_

_She lay down beside him, tugging the blanket over her as well. She was pleased to discover that his fur was a source of warmth, though she was as far away from him as she could allow and still be under the blanket. “Goodnight, wolf. I’ll get up very early, and bring you some food and water.”_

_A soft breath on her neck ushered her from a dream about a boy riding a wolf. Or was she awake? She had to still be dreaming, because it sounded like a soft, human voice snoring behind her. And a weight like an arm was slung around her waist. She blinked into the darkness of the shed, but she was so very tired after such a very, very long day…_

_The sound of a rooster crowing woke her from a dead sleep, and she sat up in a panic when she realized it was daylight already. Her father would kill her if he knew she had slept out here with the wolf! She rolled over to check on her animal friend, and she gasped._

_The wolf was gone. All that remained was her blanket, and a length of rope, still tied to the post._

* * *

“It’s…that was you?”

“Yes.” He twitched his head in the semblance of a nod, his jaw clenched. “I never forgot you. I hated humans until I met you. I thought they were an untrustworthy, idiotic bunch.” Peeta’s lips relaxed, just slightly, as he stared past her as if lost in thought. “Then I was twelve and allowed to have my first solo run. Arrogant little pup that I was, I never imagined I’d stumble into a human trap.” He looked at her then, his gaze focusing into a singular, intense stare. “I would have died if it weren’t for you- and your father. I was…saddened to learn of his passing.”

Though it had been almost a decade, her heart still grieved at thought of her beloved father’s death. “You knew when he died?” Katniss asked, rubbing her head. It was hard to visit the past when the effects of whatever had been in that cup, and his bite, were affecting her so deeply in the present. “But how? I didn’t think that the Lupines kept track of everyday district news.”

“ _I_ kept track of _you_ ,” he said lowly, stepping forward. She was very much reminded of his nakedness then, and the proud, ever-hardening organ jutting from between his powerful legs. “You didn’t see me, but I saw you. I saw everything. Reveled in the legend of your hunting prowess, helped you along the way.”

Her mouth parted when he started removing the pins from her hair, his claws plucking them out one at a time with delicate precision. They landed on the stone floor with tiny _plinks_ that echoed in the brief silence between them _._ “Helped?” she finally asked, her forehead dropping to his shoulder as he stroked her now-loose hair. A shudder of desire wracked her body.

Peeta lowered his lips to her ear, and she shivered when he growled his words directly into the shell of it. “Have you never wondered how herds of deer are driven to your feet, _alterum_? How the flocks of geese shatter the sky when you’re prowling through the forest?” He licked the side of her neck, right along her pulsing jugular. “I was with you all along.”

Her eyes widened. She had thought all this time that maybe she was special, that she had a skill as great as her mother and sister’s ability for healing. Something beyond her great-grandmother’s legacy. She wasn’t especially smart, or pretty. But she had always had _this_.

“But- how can that b-be?” she stammered, trying to push him away with weak hands. His arms were rigid as they locked around her, much like the steel trap that had brought them together all those years ago. “So it was never me?” she asked, knowing it was silly and pathetic to mourn the loss of a legend she had always disdained. “The Arrow of Panem…it was all a lie. A manipulation. It was _you._ ”

“No,” he growled in frustration, giving her a light shake. “It was _us_. We’re a pair.”

“But-”

“ _We are a mated team_.” He peered down at her, his breath coming out in harsh pants. Perspiration glistened across his high forehead. “And now we always will be. My accomplishments are yours to have. Your success is mine to feel just as keenly. Understand?”

She nodded, and his control broke. All pretense of holding back was gone as he kissed her fiercely, and every one of her arguments were lost in the face of his lips as they dragged down her jaw, her neck, the top of her breasts. When he pulled a taut nipple into his mouth, her legs buckled beneath her. Her underwear was pulled down her legs a moment later, and she barely registered when they dropped to her feet

Peeta picked her up by the waist as easily as if she were a sack of newly-picked potatoes, and tossed her on the massive bed. She bounced once, twice, and then he was on her, his hips pressing into the cradle of hers as he rocked back and forth. He let out a rumbling noise as he rubbed his against hers, his hands running up and down her body. His claws scratched lightly at the tender skin of her lower abdomen and he groaned, the tip of his erection pressing against the the pulsing nub at the center of her. She was so wet that the moisture she could feel the moisture threatening to slip down her thighs, and she ached for him to fill the empty part of her that was begging for Peeta.

He leaned down and nuzzled between her legs, inhaling deeply before giving a long, slow lick there. She jolted away in shock, but he just scowled at her between heavy eyebrows, pulling apart her thighs and throwing her legs over his broad shoulders.

“I’m tasting what’s mine,” he muttered, spreading open her lower lips with two thick fingers. And then he was lapping in earnest, his tongue flicking and fluttering over her sensitive flesh as if he wanted to devour her, the slick sounds alone threatening to undo her completely. His tongue played in the wetness at her hole before circling her clit in swift, skilled circles that had her tearing his hair at the roots.

“Peeta, oh, oh, please- don’t stop-” Her fingers held onto his silken hair as if it were a lifeline.

He didn’t flinch, only looked up at her with those glowing, satisfied eyes, and he squeezed her thighs when she started to shake, grounding her when the muscles of her stomach clenched in preparation. Her body was wracked with an orgasm that made the paltry things she had done with her own fingers seem like an amusing joke in comparison. He watched her face intently as she came, and his fierce expression would have scared her if she wasn’t so lost to her own pleasure.

“Now,” Peeta snarled, pulling away and flipping her onto her stomach.

She let out a shocked breath, her back arching when he weaved his hand through her hair and pulled her head to the side. He bit down lightly on her exposed neck, and a shot of pure pleasure ran from her navel straight to her pussy in shocking streaks.

“Always wanted you. Wanted this,” he swore thickly, licking down the center of her spine. He reached under her belly and lifted her onto her knees, his hand lingering on her hip as he settled behind her. “My cock needs inside you, _alterum_. Gonna fill you up, and then- ah-”

Katniss stiffened and cried out when he slid inside her, one impossibly hard inch at a time. She could feel the head of his cock nudging through her tight walls, and she choked on another cry when he gave one last, swift thrust inside of her. A pinch of pain gave way to something else completely, an overwhelming sense of completion that brought tears to her eyes.

“My home,” he groaned, his voice like gravel. He withdrew and pushed back inside of her again, quicker this time. Harder. “Ah- my god, Katniss. My mate.” He dropped his head to her shoulder and his hands landed on either side of her head, the veins of his hands growing thicker and his claws sharpening, turning into talons. “I won’t hurt you. I swear- I just…I can’t- ah, be gentle.”

“I don’t care,” she choked out, pushing back against him in an inexperienced rhythm. She was fueled by an ancient desire, wanting more, needing more.

He crooned into her ear, releasing a low howl as he rocked into her with a steady, unrelenting pace, his cock grinding into her with a pressure that brought unbearable pleasure to the core of her. He was hitting something that made her sob out her pleas for him to never stop, to fuck her, to give her babies-

“Yes, _alterum_ ,” Peeta ground out, biting her shoulder so hard she released a howl of her own. “You’ll, _ah_ – gods, you’re like heaven around my cock…” He shifted behind her and pulled her up to her knees, his strong arm wrapping around her waist to hold up her shuddering body. He brought a hand to the base of her throat and squeezed lightly, his breath skating over her neck as he pistoned his hips at a furious pace. “You’ll bear my babies, Katniss. I’ll see you round with our children- and… _ahh_ -” He stopped talking then, and only the sound of his grunts and snarls, and her choked, desperate pleas for him to come inside her echoed in the chamber.

She could feel him swell and pulse inside of her when she found her release. He was impossibly harder than before, and once again he bent her over, mounting her from behind.

“Peeta,” she moaned, her forehead grinding into the fur-covered bed. “You’re- I feel you. I can feel you-”

He started to lose his rhythm and she cried out when he stiffened and howled her name, releasing hot spurts through her channel. His cock was swollen and thick inside of her, and when she clenched her inner muscles, he grunted as if in pain. And then he collapsed, pulling her with him and rolling them onto their sides so as not to crush her.

She instinctively moved to pull away from him, but he stopped her, dragging Katniss to rest against him. “You can’t.” He continued, sensing her confusion, “We’re locked together for the time being. When Lupines mate, we don’t shift…not completely. But our organs are much the same. Like a wolf, I knotted inside of you when I came. It’s part of our mating imperative, to ensure that we breed.”

 _Oh_.

“Is that…does that disgust you?” he asked gruffly in the face of her silence. “To mate with a beast…”

“No,” she said, interrupting him. She laughed a little and wiggled against him, and Peeta stiffened. “No, I’m not laughing at you. Well, I am a bit. It’s only– were you there just now?”

“What do you mean?” he grunted. “Of course I was.” His hand played in her hair, and she could sense a vulnerability in him that she’d never seen before. She longed to soothe it away. “I’m _still_ there, impertinent mate.” He thrust his hips a little, almost as if to punish her, but she groaned in response.

“I’ve never felt anything like that. I- _Peeta_ , that was beautiful.”

There was silence behind her. And then-

“Katniss,” he said softly, his voice so impossibly gentle that she had to crane her neck to look at him. To make sure it was really him who was clutching her to his chest as if he couldn’t bear to let her go. He nuzzled her cheek and pressed a sweet kiss there, his hand smoothing back her sweat-soaked hair. She felt shell-shocked, stunned, and happier than she’d ever felt in her life. “You’re my life now. I…love you. I always have.”

Her heart beat faster in her chest at his words. _Love_?

“You don’t have to say it back,” he said, the words rough again. His arm tightened around her waist. “It’ll come. The love. You’re…new to this. But I have loved you for- a long time. From the moment I saw you, I think.”

She was silent, overwhelmed by his declaration. “Peeta,” she replied, settling against him. Her small hand found his and he squeezed it back. “I’m going to love you, too.” She closed her eyes and felt sleep threaten to take her over now that she was safe and sated in her mate’s arms. “I know I will.”

He drew her closer, leaning over to watch her sleep. “And I will live for that moment,” he said quietly, and kissed her on each of her closed eyelids.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm badnovels on tumblr. Come say hello.


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